Vitiligo – it is a problem faced by 0.5% of people worldwide. This violation of skin pigmentation is manifested by white spots on the affected areas of the skin. There are various problems associated with standard therapies. One of the ways to treat vitiligo is autotransplantation, a convenient method of which is presented by the manufacturer Laboratoires Genevrier.
In this case, autotransplantation is the transplantation of cells cultured from normally pigmented areas of the skin and transplanted into another area of the body with pigmentation disorders. Such cells take root and multiply in the area in which they are transplanted, which leads to repigmentation of this area of the skin.
Specialists have conducted about fifteen studies aimed at studying repigmentation through autotransplantation. One of the most significant was a study involving 67 patients who were followed up for 5 years after the respective transplant. Depending on the type of vitiligo, 73% to 84% of the interventions performed provided “excellent” repigmentation (i.e. more than 95%) that persisted for 5 years after the intervention.
What is a Viticell kit?
Viticell is a cell suspension preparation kit. This medical device is a regulated medical device that is CE marked in accordance with applicable law (Class III).
Viticell provides autotransplantation, which previously could only be performed in a hospital setting, and is now available in a patient-friendly environment. Viticell can be used for non-progressive vitiligo or for hypochromic post-traumatic scars.
3 steps of the Viticell procedure
SAMPLE COLLECTION
Cells are taken from a small area of skin (0.2 - 0.3 mm) that is normally pigmented. This procedure is carried out using a special instrument (dermatome), which captures only the surface layer of the skin. The intervention is performed under local anesthesia, so it is usually painless. After surgery, a bandage is applied to the treated area of the skin. Healing is observed after a few days.
CELL SUSPENSION PREPARATION
The doctor processes the skin sample with the Viticell kit, as a result of which only the useful part of the implant is removed, i.e. cells that are capable of skin repigmentation. As a result, the doctor receives a cell suspension consisting of mixed populations, mainly basal keratinocytes, as well as Langerhans cells, melanocytes and fibroblasts.
Viticell provides an opportunity to obtain a graft from 4-10 square centimeters of skin for transplantation into a skin area of 5 – 10 times the area of the sample taken, i.e. 20 – 100 square centimeters.
TRANSPLANTATION
The area to be transplanted is treated to promote survival of the transplanted cells. As a rule, a laser is used for this. This procedure is also performed under local anesthesia, which makes it painless. After that, it remains only to apply the prepared cells to the transplant area and cover them with a bandage, which the doctor replaces during the next visit of the patient.
The whole procedure takes 1 – 2 hours.
Contraindications to the use of cell suspension for the treatment of vitiligo:
- cell suspension should not be applied to infected or dead wounds;
- Viticell should not be used in patients with hypersensitivity to hyaluronic acid or trypsin.
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